Waiting for Sunrise

Chapter 2: Childhood Arc

Kyuubi Attack

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible — the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.

- Virginia Satir

Konoha was still burning - not with the blazing flames of fire anymore, no, but with the growing feeling of grief and pain within all of us.

The smoke filled air gave us this halloween blood sun - how fitting. There won't be a need for damaged and tatty clothing, or fake dismembered limbs. There was no shortage of the real thing, of the blood that congeals and browns. The very air we breathed was pungent with the odour of the recently deceased and no one could figure out how we earned this ticket to hell. At least, no one but me I suppose.

The streets that once thronged with life stood silent, almost as if Konoha itself was mourning. The once smooth sandstone walls that made our village sunny, even when it was grey and overcast, were now riddled with holes. The crumbling stone lay ash-like on the ground, a cold dust over every blade of grass and leaf. There it would stay until the wind carried it away and the rain washed every little thing clean.

There are buildings in Konoha that were so beautiful and beloved that to see them in ruins, no more than a ragged pile of rubble in the once busy streets…When parts of your world – in my case; new world – that have stood for as long as you can remember, lie ruined at your feet it rocks you in a way you never imagined the loss of something inanimate would.

If this was some movie in my previous life, I'd feel frisson of excitement right now, but knowing there are personal effects in behind those walls, chosen by families that were now, either broken by losses or extinguished, I could feel my insides cool and spasm.

Gone were the food vendors and the women in their bright clothes selling goods from carts and baskets. Gone were the children who played amongst the crowds with their games and laughter. Gone were the stores with their windows of fine clothing or delicacies.

It was as if, on this terrible night, every single person in this village had lost something precious.

Hours after the Kyuubi Attack, most people were still in the evac shelters due to safety, organisational and psychological reasons. There were increased patrols, clean up duties, and whatever else had been produced by the attack. However, the priorities now lay in finding out who was killed, how many were killed and who needed immediate treatment due to serious injuries. The Third gave orders to every Chunin and Jounin respectively to help identify the dead and seal them away to hand them out to their families later on, once the time was right. If it was ever right.

Whenever there was news about family members, those concerned were called out and mostly roughly inaugurated about what had happened to their loved ones. Often, they were told that mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, daughters and sons were currently in a different evac shelter, or that they were taken to a hospital to treat serious injuries. More often, however, people came back with teary eyes, because a corpse was identified, and it had turned out to be a family member.

I shivered, suddenly feeling very cold.

"Kazuko Namiashi?" called a womanly voice out into the noise of the overfilled shelter.

Shit. I raised my hand. "Here," I said in a raspy voice.

I could hear the familiar continual tap of a heel against the floor and my pulse rate shot up upon realizing what was nearing.

I saw the woman peering at me and tapping her clipboard simultaneously. I stood up almost too quick, sending a sharp searing pain along my ankle while getting up. Through the words that came out from her flawlessly outlined lips were inaudible amidst the tense atmosphere, I could clearly understand what I had to do.

I peered over to Izumi. The poor girl curled up into a tiny ball once she cried herself into sleep. There was a blanket on top of her, which I got from one of the Chunin running around to hand out diverse supplies to civilians. I laid some of nutrition bars I got next to her, a little bit under her blanket so she would see it once she wakes up as well as to keep it safe from thieves.

The woman in front of me coughed, looking at me in a manner that screamed 'hurry up, I've got work to do'. With a last glance back to the sleeping brunette, I took a step forward.

The walk to the, I named it 'interrogation room', felt almost non-existent as my mind filled with the million possibilities of what could await me in there.

As I approached the slightly open door of the room from which white light was pouring out through the crack, I found myself biting hard on my bottom lip, filling my mouth with the metallic taste of blood. I must have reopened the wound from earlier today.

"Please take a seat," said the woman in a gentle tone. At first I hesitated but then did as I was told. I just wanted to know what the heck was going on and leave this place.

"I can only imagine what goes through your mind right now but keep your head up. We may have lost the battle but the war isn't over yet." There was a determination shining in her eyes which lead me to sweat drop. I almost envied her.

"You see-", she glanced towards the stack of sheets in her grip. "I've got good and bad news for you." I gulped. "Which would you like to hear first?'', she added.

"The good news-" I guess.

"Very well. The good news is that a relative of yours came to pick you up." said the woman firmly.

Alright. So a relative came to pick me up? A relative. Couldn't she have been more precise? For as long as I could remember, there was only Shinju and me. Once in a while, some friend of hers came by to pay a visit. But that was it. How was I supposed to know who I should look out for once I'm out of here? Did they even check if this alleged relative of mine, really was who he/she gave out to be? What if it was some kind of sick impostor, taking advantage of this whole situation?

I stirred in my seat as I tried to regain my cool. I was probably interpreting too much into it again. I tend to do that a lot. Maybe it was really my mom? But then again, if it was Shinju picking me up, the woman would have said something along these lines. But she hasn't. And I'm too shaken up to ask.

Could today get any worse?

"Now to the bad news-" Yes, it could. "It has been reported that your mother, Shinju Namiashi, is that correct?"

I nodded eagerly.

"- has been send to the hospital. Apparently, she was found unconscious with a serious wound on her head. She probably suffered a concussion. Do you know what that is?" She asked.

I frowned at that and replied in a scowl. "Yeah I know." Of course I know. What does she think I am? Stupid? A five year old?

"…", It struck me then that, yes, she actually thought that I was a five year old little girl. Darn it.

Anyway, it may sound harsh but I was actually glad that it was 'only' a concussion. In my mind, I've imagined much more terrible things.

I released a deep sigh. It was as if a tension had lifted yet left me with a melancholy instead of relief.

I looked back up at the woman, only to find her staring at me with mild curiosity. "Is there anything else I could help you with?"

I shook my head. "No", I muttered and swiftly stood up to leave the room. I just wanted to get out of here.

-x-

The light was too bright for my eyes after the darkening gloom outside. I found it abrasive, enough perhaps to bring on one of my migraines. This hospital was nothing like the one I was used to from back home in my previous life, where the receptionist was more plastic than the water dispenser.

Here, there was no openness, no space, nothing shone or had the smell of disinfectant. The floor was uneven from so much traffic with both, feet and wheels, that it seemed darker than a mausoleum. There were no hand sanitizers on the walls. How they prevented the spread of germs here, I didn't know. Perhaps they didn't.

Reaching the double-doors with their plastic band fastened midway and their dull chrome handles, I pulled my eyes from the floor to catch a glimpse of the hallway that stretched beyond, cut into tiny squares by the thin wire in the window panels. Without pause I pushed with my body weight. It swung open soundlessly and with ease. A draft of air hit my face, warm and with a tincture of bleach.

Ahead of me lay magnolia walls, decorated with old black and white photographs of hospital staff - most likely deceased by now. We weaved our way through the bustling crowds and slid off down the stairs.

Now, you may be wondering, who exactly the person accompanying me is, right? I'm just gonna cut it short. After everyone was free to leave the evac shelters almost twenty-four hours after my 'talk' with that woman, I was kidnapped, yes exactly, kidnapped by a boy with a fresh bandage around the centre of his face. There was still a little bit of blood getting through. I tried to scream for someone, anyone, to help me but he prevented me by pressing his rather big palm against my mouth. I couldn't make a single sound. After attempting to lick his hand to disgust him enough so he would remove his hand from my face - very mature by the way, I know - I gave up and decided to accept whatever was meant to happen next. I already lived one life after all so I didn't even really care anymore.

For a second I thought I heard him mutter 'thank god' but shrugged it off.

Now that I had a better look at my kidnapper - without being blinded by my fear – I'd recognized him. And how I'd recognized him. Remember when Kurenai brought me a present from someone called Raidō? Well, that was him.

That was so cool.

I already assumed that the generous Raidō from back when I turned one year old was the one from the series – the elite bodyguard of the Hokage –but some part of me didn't want to believe it.

I was kidnapped by family. Cute

After some time of him carrying me while jumping from one rooftop to another, he came to a sudden halt. I looked around to see where he led us when I noticed that this was the – now partly damaged – rooftop of the northwest hospital. The bandaged boy motioned me to follow.

"Shinju is stationed in room 208", was all he said before he disappeared behind the door to the staircase.

And that's how I ended up here; in this overfilled hospital.

Everyone in the halls had the same kind of harried and stressed expression on, like they'd had one cup of coffee to many, one hour of sleep too few and the end of the world was right around the corner.

Again and again I checked the numbers of the rooms on our way, until we arrived at the one we were looking for. Right next to us, at room number 208, was where Shinju lay.

I knocked on the door before I slowly opened it to take a peek. "Kaa-chan?" I asked.

Silence.

Once inside, I walked forward to see if mom was still asleep. To my surprise she was wide awake, looking out the window with a very distant look on her face.

"Kaa-chan?" I asked once again, this time a little louder than before.

A second passed before her bright blue eyes stared back into my own. Shinju's face lit up as relief washed over it. Her bottom lip quivered as tears started to pool down her cheek. Immediately, I closed the distance between us and held her in a tight embrace.

"I'm so glad", she sniffled and I was about to reply when suddenly there was a cough heard behind me.

"It's nice to see that you're doing fine. We were worried about you." said the deep voice of the person who has a liking for kidnapping.

I perceived a sound of surprise. "Raidō? I certainly didn't expect you to come here." There was something subtly different in Shinju's tone. It wasn't harsh, more like, hurt maybe?

"Ouch," Raidō said, holding his hand up his heart in mock pain. "You know I've been-"

"Busy.", interrupted Shinju. I gave a wince. His face, however, was carefully neutral.

"I know this excuse all too well." Shinju sighed and slowly released her grip on me.

I only cocked my head as silence slowly fell onto place. Just what the hell was going on? There was definitely something fishy here and I was dying to know what it was. But I didn't know how to address my concern.

Luckily enough, I was released from this task as Raidō began to mutter something under his breath.

"I didn't want it to end up like this. After his death-", the expression he made showed how difficult it was for him to find the right words. Shinju just looked encouraging and patiently at him.

"I was trying to find a way to cope. I buried myself under training and taking missions. So much that I blended out, how you must have felt alone with your daughter. I came here to apologise and if you allow, to give our family a second chance. From now on I will take care of you and Kazuko-chan, be a big brother to her." He said, his voice firm, yet gentle at the same time.

"The attack-" he spit that word out with anger, "made me realise what a coward I am. My brother loved you and cared deeply for you. Instead of protecting both of you as I should have I-" he took a deep breath, "I ran away."

Shinju and I exchanged worried glances. I never would have thought that this conversation would take a turn like that. And by the looks of it neither had Shinju. She slipped out of bed and walked past me. Raidō just looked at her in confusion, opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Standing in front of him, Shinju leaned down a bit, grabbed him by his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes.

"I thought I'd lost you," she said with a trembling voice, "You don't owe me an apology, Raidō, I'm just glad you came back to your senses. That's all I wanted." Shinju let go of her tears and hugged him gently, almost as if he were to break if she squeezed too tightly.

"I wouldn't mind having a big brother" I chimed in. "As long as I can annoy him." I added with a sly smile.

Shinju let go of him, giggling as Raidō threw me a half-hearted glare which said 'don't you dare'.

I looked at the two of them and the relieved expression they made. It was obvious that they had to face a lot of difficulties and I was glad that they could solve this issue before it escalated to a degree where their bond would have been irreparably broken.

I'm sorry for the long hiatus. There have been a whole lot of changes in my life and I just needed some time to adjust myself. It turned out to be rather short but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!